Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-03-21

Of Christianity. The HERALD to-day
presents reports of the discourses at the
Catholic Cathedral and ct the Christian
Church ON Temple street.
j THE BLESSED EUCHARIST.
xernen Of the Reverend Father
acannell as tho Cathedral.
! 'Unlsss you eat Of the flesh of the
Son Of Man and drink of his blood. you
shall not have life in you" (St. John,
chapt. 9, '. SAY was ths text of the elo-
auent divine. He said: 'Christ, by the
multiplication of five loaves and two
fisher, feeds 5000 people in the desert,
and Afterwards, passing over the sea, he
arrives at Capernaum. The multitude
hocked to MIN, and Christ said to them,
ssYou seek me not because you see
signs and wonders, but because you
want to be fed with the loaves and
fishes over again. Christ reprehends
their carnal spirit and directs their minds
to seek more excellent food. Labor
not for the bread that perisheth but for
that which endureth to life everlasting
which the Son of Man will give you.
John 6-27.) The Jews ask him what
they shall do to acquire this bread.
Jesus says that they believe in him. The
Jews ask sign Of him as Moses gave
them when they we're sustained by
the mama in the wilderness. Christ
Gays Moses did not give you bread from
heaven, but my Father poureth the true
bread from heaven, that giveth life to
the world The Jews asked him to give
them always this bread, whereupon he
said 10 them: 81 am the bread of life;
your fathers did eat mama in the will
derness and they are dead. l am the
bread that came down from heaven. II
any one eat Of this bread he shall live
forever. The bread that / will give is
my flesh for the life of the world. -
[John 81 Upon this the Jews mur.
INJURED and said, ''How can Jesus give
us his flesh to eat ?" and some of the
disciples said, "This is hard sayiog,
who can believe it?" They acted lik Q the
protestants Of later times, But our Lord
solemnly confirmed by solemn assert
tion that this bread, which is to be eat
en-, 20 as to obtain eternal life, is really
His flesh. and that it is to be eaten, this
real manducation shows. ''Verily, yer.
lily, / saw unto you that unless you eat
OF the flesh Of the Son of Man, and
drink of His blood you shall not have
life in you, for my flesh is meat and
my blood is drink indeed
The Rev. Father said that in this,
the 9Th chapter of st. John, the doctrine
of the blessed Eucharist, as it
has been held by the Catholic Church
for eighteen centuries, is grounded.
"Hsre there was promise that
Christ would give them his flesh and
blood a. food for their souls. AT the
last supper he fulfilled it when he con-,
secrated bread and wine and said, "Take
and eat of this, this is my body, etc, Do
this in remembrance of me-" Our sancti-
fication consists altogether in that
charity by which we love God above all
things, and the Blessed Eucharist invites
us to God. "He that eateth my flesh
and drinketh my blood abideth in me
and in him." (St. John 6, 81. In it
Christ makes us participators in the
fullness of that divine life and
CHARITY to be received from his
Father. 'As the living Father hath
sent me and / live by the Father, 40 he
that eateth Of me the same shall live by
me.'-( ohm 6, 5S.)
Christ came on earth and laid down
his life for his sheep, that they might
have life and have it more abundantly.
The Blessed Eucharist was instituted in
the form OF bread and food and drink,
and where these are used daily for the
eustenance of the body, SO the Blessed
Eucharist should be used frequently
for the preservation and increase
Of divine life in the soul. The
disorder and turbulence introduced into
mans condition by the Fall and his
weakness and misery remained with him
every day and that he has to divest him
self Of the old man with all his acts
and put on the new man, who is ere.
ated according to God and justice, sanci
ty and truth. The Blessed Eucharist is
most powerful to effect this
transformation. Certainly Christ had
it in view when he tells us
to ssevsry day ask our daily bread"
The Reverend Father went on to
show that the practice of the Catholic
Church. both Eastern and Western. up
to the Fifth Century, was daily commun.
ion.or at least sometime in the week From
the Fifth to the ninth century it was the
practice to communicate, on Sundays
and the solemn festivals. Towards the
beginning of the Twelfth Century came
the Iron Age in the practice of commun;-
eating. The fervor of many seemed to
cool, and the Blessed Eucharist was
neglected by many. The Catholic
Church in the Fourth Council of Lat
eran, A. D. 1915, issued the celebrated
Canon. "All persons of either sex, who
shall have come to the use of reason,
shall confess their sins at least once
year to their own pastor, and receive
the Blessed Eucharist at Easter. Olher-
wise they shall be separated from the
church whilst living and deprived of
Christian burial when they die" This
Canon is still in force in the church.
The preacher said that since the
Blessed Eucharist contained the body
and blood of Christ. it would be great
sin and sacrilege to receive in the state
of mortal sin. ''They who eat and drink
says st. Paul, ''are guilty of
the body and blood of the Lord" We |
should repent of our sins. confess them,
with the necessary dispositions, receive
the sacrament of reconciliation, and
thus clothed with ths robe of innocence
the heavenly banquet. Then
the soul may drink from the side Of her
Savior, and draw from that sacred foun-
tain The waters OF life. Then she may
gather abundantly the fruits of his death
md passion; sprinkle herself with his
precious blood and be purified and sanc-
Eifed. Then she will open her eyes to
His great ard good Master, end learn
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